Central bank says 'core inflation' 9.6-pct in May

June 6 (LBO) Sri Lanka's central bank said its 'core inflation' index from which a number of items such as food had been dropped was 9.6 percent in May 2008 against 'headline' inflation of 26.2 percent. In May the 'core' index had grown 0.3 percent against 0.9 percent in April. The moving average rose to 7.9 percent from 7.7 percent in April. The central bank said the high 'headline' inflation showed up through increases in food prices, especially vegetables and fish.
more..

Sri Lanka oil block goes to Cairn India

June 6 (LBO) Cairn India Limited, a unit of Cairn Energy plc of the UK, has won an offshore exploration block in Sri Lanka's Mannar basin beating two other players, the island's petroleum minister A H M Fowzie said. "The selection was approved by the Cabinet of ministers two weeks ago," Fowzie told LBO. "A team from the company will come to Sri Lanka at the end of the month to sign the agreement."
more..

UNP alleges govt. preparing laws to curb media

June 6 (LD) The UNP's newly-appointed spokesman for free media Dayasiri Jayasekara has claimed that the government was preparing to introduce laws to curb the media. As a party and as persons who want a free media culture, we condemn this move, he told the media today (June 05th). Commenting on the naming of certain media institutions by the Ministry of Defence as traitors, Mr. Jayasekara said that this would be challenged in the Supreme Court very soon.
more..

UNP protests rude OIC

June 6 (LD) The United National Party staged an agitation in front of the Bambalapitiya Police Station this afternoon (June 05th) against its OIC, who used rude language on two women activists of the party during a protest the previous day. The UNP's Anuradhapura district MP Chandrani Bandara and Organizer for Colombo West Rosie Senanayake were the target of the verbal abuse at the party's demonstration against high fuel prices.
more..

Media groups call for protection to Kattankudi journalists

June 6 (LD) Five local media rights organizations have expressed concern over continuous threats faced by journalists who operate from Kattankudi in Batticaloa. These organizations said in a joint statement that unidentified groups threatened two journalists in Kattankudi last night (June 04th). According to reports, the assailants had gone to the houses of T.L. Jawfer Kahan and M.S.M. Noordeen, banged on the doors and attacked with chili powder.
more..

Summary of the Cabinet decisions

June 6 (GDI) Cabinet granted approval to a memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, to enter into a grant agreement with the Government of the Netherlands for a sum of Euro 19,656,418 to part finance the augmentation and rehabilitation of the Negombo Water Supply Scheme. Accordingly Cabinet granted approval to enter into a Loan Agreement with ING Bank N.V. of the Netherlands to borrow
more..

More relief for flood victims

June 6 (GDI) Minister of Relief Services Rishad Badiudeen announced yesterday (04th) that steps have been taken to provide more relief to those affected by floods. The Government has set apart Rs. 50 million to execute immediate flood relief work in the affected districts, he said. Twenty deaths have been reported so far with some person missing. A total of 91,976 families and over 400,000 people have been rendered homeless.
more..

Tamil Nationalism becomes The Ethno-Suicide of Sri Lankan Tamils

June 6 (LG) The German-Swedish academic Peter Shalk has come forward to present us "Quotes by Veluppillai Pirapakaram", in an article published in the Sri Lanka Guardian. It is a known fact that Dr. Shalk has become totally mesmerized by the macabre madness of the "suicidal Black Tigers". So here we see him rehashing the words of Prabhakaran with the reverence of a true devotee.
more..

“If Indo-Lanka Accord was then accepted and implemented, ......

June 6 (LG) Douglas Devananda, Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare stated at a public gathering at his Ministerial premises on the 01st of June 2008 that from the very beginning he has been adhering to and taking forward only the proposals that would prove to be practically successful and those that are not wouldn’t bring any benefit or solace to his people.
more..

World Bank supports reconstruction in Sri Lanka’s conflict areas

June 6 (WB) The World Bank today approved a US$75.6 million support package to Sri Lanka for the reconstruction of houses in the conflict affected North and East, upgrading of statistical capacity and auditing standards, and promotion of equitable access to basic and secondary education. Sri Lanka’s strong economic growth has led to rapid poverty reduction in the past five years.
more..

Improved water retention measures needed to thwart floods

June 6 (IRIN) Flash floods that affected 418,000 people and left 23 dead and four missing this week in western Sri Lanka could have been avoided with proper water retention schemes, government irrigation engineers told IRIN. Floods caused by the onset of the southwestern monsoon on 2 and 3 June affected more than 94,000 families in nine districts in the western lowlands, GM Gunewardena, assistant director at the National Disaster Relief Service Centre (NDRSC), told IRIN.
more..

Much Ado about Eastern Democracy?

June 6 (GV) After one cease-fire, two formal peace talks, three wars, we wade deeper into Eelam war IV, and we’re back at square one. Or is it we never left? Over 2000 deaths post-2006. Post-tsunami, over 700,000 refugees upon a decimated Northeast bloated with bone and shades of displacement. Unidentified gunmen, parcel bombs, white vans, lurk in every shadow. From Devakumaran to Senpathi, infants in Kayts to civilians in Dehiwala, the value of human life varies inversely with
more..

Church helps flood victims with food, shelter

June 6 (UCAN) The local Catholic Church has joined the government and NGOs in providing food, water and shelter for people who have fled their homes due to heavy flooding. According to media reports, torrential monsoon rains beginning in May and flooding and landslides since June 1 have killed at least 20 people, destroyed at least 400 houses and displaced around 400,000 people.
more..

Major religious superiors call on govt, rebels to stop war and negotiate

June 6 (UCAN) The Conference of Major Religious Superiors (CMRS) in Sri Lanka has joined a chorus of calls for the government and Tamil rebels to stop the mounting violence and enter into political dialogue. The letter sent to both parties on June 2 called on both sides to stop all forms of violence and war immediately and enter into negotiations. "Respect the human rights of each individual as enshrined in the international law and grant permission for the UN monitoring mission to be present in Sri Lanka,"
more..

Sincere negotiations are only way to peace, Pope tells new Sri Lankan ambassador

June 6 (UCAN) "Frank and sincere negotiations" are "the only sure means" to resolve the long-running conflict in Sri Lanka, Pope Benedict XVI has told the country's new ambassador to the Holy See. The pope accepted Ambassador Tikiri Bandara Maduwegerdera's credential letters on May 29 in the Vatican, a little more than a year after he welcomed Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
more..

Sri Lanka bus explosion kills 20

June 6 (Reuters) A morning rush hour blast in a suburb of Sri Lanka's capital killed 20 people and wounded 40 on Friday, police said. The explosion in a bus in a southern suburb of Colombo came two days after suspected Tamil Tiger rebels blew up a rail track near the Sri Lankan capital wounding 27 people. The latest explosion targeting civilians comes as the Sri Lanka's military presses on with an offensive to retake the Tigers' northern stronghold in land,
more..

Second bomb blast in Colombo in nine days

June 6 (wsws) An explosion in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo on Wednesday injured 27 commuters during the morning rush hour. A bomb had been placed on the rail track near Dehiwela station and detonated as a crowded train passed by, heading to the city centre and carrying hundreds of workers and school children. The latest blast took place just nine days after an explosion on a crowded train at Dehiwela station killed 9 people and injured around 80.
more..

Bruce Fein - A Carrion Bird of LTTE terrorism

June 6 (LNP) Defence.lk has learnt that Mr. Bruce Fein, a US citizen and an attorney at law has launched a misinformation and disinformation campaign against Sri Lanka`s defence authorities at the behest of LTTE terrorists. According to our sources, a US based LTTE front organization that operates under a typical misleading name used by such outfits - `Tamils for Justice` has hired Mr. Fein to carry out character assassination campaigns against
more..

Hot air over enhanced fuel allowance

June 6 (LNP) Controversy surrounds the top heavy government s decision to increase the monthly fuel allowance of personal staff of Ministers, Governors and Chief Ministers amidst soaring cost of living fuelled by steep increase in fuel prices. After repeated representations made by government members, the SLFP-led ruling coalition has sharply increased the fuel allowance with effect from April 1.
more..

The East can!

June 6 (LNP) The biggest benefit that has accrued to the country from the election of former LTTE combatant S. Chandrakanthan at the Eastern Provincial Council polls was the unmasking of bogus peace makers and conflict resolution activists. Those who had been urging the government to bring the LTTE to the political mainstream through a devolution package made an about-turn no sooner had Chandrakanthan, who had stepped out of terrorism, accepted devolution at the provincial level.
more..

LTTE lists 21,051 as Fallen Heroes

June 6 (SAMN) The LTTE in the latest release by its Hero’s department has claimed that the rebels have lost 21,051 carders in the quest for a separate state for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The 21,051 carders include 16,516 males and 4,535 females. The period cited for the deaths cover 26 years from November 27, 1982 to 31 May 2008. The Tamil Tigers lost their first carder Lt. Shankar on November 27, 1982, widely celebrated by the LTTE as Heroes’ Day.
more..

Rapid growth in Lankan IT industry

June 6 (SAMN) "We want to build sustainable business globally and give our customers the best we could in order that they could do better in the SME sector. The SME sector in Sri Lanka is growing rapidly and there is a rapid growth in the IT industry too and I see that there is a large market potential in Sri Lanka," said Vice President, SME, SAP India, Dep Deep Sengupta. He further said, "We have good support from the Sri Lankan industries.
more..

Raggers beware!

June 6 (SAMN) Higher Education Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala reiterated on Wednesday that the Government would instruct IGP Victor Perera to effectively enforce the provisions of the Anti-Ragging Act to maintain stability in the university system. Prof. Warnapala said that this Act should be enforced effectively, adding that the ragging of freshers was considered a serious offence under the Penal Code even in countries such as India.
more..

UNP blames Govt. for attack on Noyahr

June 6 (SAMN) UNP parliamentarian Lakshman Seneviratne Thursday told Parliament that the government should take full responsibility for the brutal assault on The Nation newspaper’s Associate Editor Keith Noyahr. While emphasizing that “Sri Lanka was the third most dangerous place in the world for journalists”, Seneviratne tabled the Nation’s May 11 defence column written by Noyahr, before he was attacked.
more..

Lanka's largest IT Park to be set up in Malabe

June 6 (DN) Sri Lanka's largest Information Technology Park is to be set up at Malabe by two Indian companies, Infinite Infotec Park Company and G.S. Group. The Sri Lanka Information Technology Institute and India's Ernst and Young Company will assist the BoI in the implementation of this project involving an Investment of US $ 80 million, the Department of Government Information said yesterday quoting BoI Chairman Dhammika Perera.
more..

No fuel subsidy to ministers, diplomats

June 6 (DN) No decision has been made to provide a special fuel subsidy to Government Ministers and foreign diplomatic missions, Cabinet Spokesman and Information and Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said. Addressing the media in Colombo yesterday, the Cabinet Spokesman said the fuel allowance given to Ministers and Deputy Ministers was the same they received prior to the recent oil prices hike.
more..

Railway workers irked over plan to cut their subsidy

June 6 (Island) Railway workers are up in arms over the recent decision to reduce the Treasury subsidy on their season tickets under the recent increase of train fares to meet at least a part of the operating costs. The All Ceylon Railway Employees’ Union said although they understand the need to cut down on losses urgently the workers shouldn’t be overburdened. A spokesman for the union yesterday told The Island, they wanted a meeting with Railways General Manager Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan to discuss the issue.
more..

Ban on bulbs over 75 Watts in the offing

June 6 (Island) Legislation is to be introduced banning the import, distribution and sale of electric bulbs over 75 Watts. The Power and Energy Ministry, in co-ordination with the Sustainable Energy Authority and the Sri Lanka Standards Bureau will introduce the new legislation. The Ministry has already contacted the Legal Draftman to prepare provisions that could be gazetted. Those who defy the regulation would be prosecuted.
more..

100 Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in SL

June 6 (GDI) Hundred entrepreneurs from China will arrive in the island to initiate projects next year, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, Sarath Amunugama said in Parliament today (06). Accordingly, new Industrial Zones will be setup in Katunayake and Mirigama, the Minister added. The products of these Industrial Zones are aimed at the export market.
more..

President's statement on today's bomb explosion in Katubedde

June 6 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaka while expressing his deepest sympathies to the families of those killed, and offering the blessings of the Noble Triple Gem and all deities for the speedy recovery of all injured in the terrorist attack today in Katubedda said that this explosion once again shows the LTTE's brutality and lack of respect for human life.
more..

Jayasuriya focused after recall

June 6 (Reuters) Explosive Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya is determined to keep the focus on his performances rather than age after earning a surprise one-day recall for this month's Asia Cup in Pakistan. Jayasuriya, who turns 39 on June 30, retired from Tests in December. He appeared to have played his last game for Sri Lanka after he was dropped for the one-day series in West Indies in April having failed to score a 50 in his previous 20 innings.
more..

Restore normalcy in East - Rauff Hakeem

June 6 (MG) SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem yesterday said President Rajapaksa’s government was responsible for bringing the situation in the Eastern Province under control. But the situation could get aggravated unless security forces and the Police take very tough and bold measures to get the breakaway LTTE faction the TMVP to voluntarily de-commission their weapons. He was addressing a press briefing held at the SLMC headquarters Dharussalam in Slave Island last evening where he
more..

Sri Lanka gets EU delegation to discuss trade concessions

June 6 (LBO) A European Union delegation is due to visit Sri Lanka next week to discuss the renewal of trade concessions for exports, especially apparel, into the EU, a government minister said. "Next week a high level delegation is coming to Colombo from Brussels to discuss with us GSP Plus and how to set about this and what matters we should emphasis," G.L. Pieris minister of export trade and international trade, said Thursday.
more..

Tigers bomb Sri Lanka commuter bus, 21 dead: officials

June 6 (AFP) At least 21 people were killed and 47 others wounded Friday in the latest in a string of suspected Tamil Tiger attacks against civilians in the Sri Lankan capital, officials said. The attack saw a packed state-run bus travelling just south of Colombo hit by a powerful fragmentation mine placed on the roadside and peppered with red-hot shrapnel. "Twenty-one people have been killed, eight of them are women,"
more..

Sri Lanka plans new defence structure

June 6 (LBO) The Sri Lankan government said it wants to introduce a new defence structure, including a joint chiefs of staff committee, for the 'higher defence management', to ensure better joint planning and operations by the armed forces. New laws are to be drafted to create the structure under proposals prepared by the office of strategic affairs of the defence and public security ministry, information minister Anura Yapa told reporters.
more..

Explosion in Pollgolla: 2 dead, 12 injured

June 6 (GDI) An explosion occurred near the Youth Centre in Polgolla, Kandy a short while ago (June 6). It is reported that 2 people have died and 12 other injured as a result. This is the second explosion to occur today; 21 people were killed in a claymore explosion that targetted a bus earlier in the day in Katubedde, near the Moratuwa University. Both incidents carry the signature of the LTTE, an internationally condemned, ruthless terrorist outfit.
more..

Second bus blast reported in Sri Lanka; 21 dead

June 7 (AP) Bombs ripped through two buses in separate attacks in Sri Lanka on Friday, including an attack during morning rush-hour traffic near the capital that killed 21 people and wounded 47, officials said. The second bombing occurred in central Sri Lanka's Kandy district within hours of the first attack and killed at least two people and wounded at least 20, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.
more..

Video: Bombs rip through 2 buses in Sri Lanka

June 6 (MB) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on Friday blew up two passenger buses, one packed with morning commuters near Sri Lanka's heavily fortified capital, killing 23 people, a move that experts say marks an acceleration of attacks on civilian targets. (June 6)There are pools of blood after a roadside bomb ripped through this crowded passenger bus. The deadly explosion during Friday morning's rush hour shattered the vehicle's windows and peppered it with shrapnel.
more..

The iron hand of the Tamil Tigers

June 7 (LG) The Chinese do not have the exclusivity of ethnic gangs phenomenon. Another Asian community, Tamils from Sri Lanka, also has its own gangs. And there again, their appearance during the second half of the 1990’s would be mainly linked with the development of illegal immigration networks to France1. But when the Chinese teams only have a few members, the Tamil gangs include tens of them, or even many more.
more..

Sri Lanka issues media guidelines

June 7 (Hindu) Amid growing concern in the media over what is perceived as high-handedness of the Defence Ministry towards journalists critical of the current war in the nation, the Sri Lanka Defence Ministry has formulated new guidelines for the media. The guidelines, in the form a lengthy advisory posted on the ministry’s website, come amid heated exchanges between the media and the Defence Ministry over the recent move by the Defence Secretary to summon representatives of
more..

Planting trees in Sri Lanka is good karma

June 7 (TMG) It was most auspicious that after three months spent working for a tree conservation society in Sri Lanka, my last trip was to visit the country's most famous tree. The Sri Maha Bodhi or sacred Bo tree in Anuradhapura is apparently taken from a cutting of the original Figus Religiosa where Buddha attained enlightenment. It is the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world for it has been tended by an uninterrupted succession of guardians for over 2,000 years,
more..

Travel advice for Sri Lanka following bomb attacks

June 7 (TB) A bomb exploding on a bus in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo has killed at least 21 people and caused the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to update its travel advice. Today's explosion in the suburb of Katubedda also injured 50 people and a further explosion has also been reported on another bus on the Wellawata to Kandy road is reported to have killed two people.
more..

Sri Lanka puts reporters' lives at risk-media body

June 7 (Reuters) Sri Lankan government statements accusing critical journalists of treachery in the civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels could encourage "extreme violence" against them, an international media body said on Friday. The Brussels-based International News Safety Institute (INSI) said the latest attacks on reporters condemning many of them as "enemies of the state" appeared on the Sri Lankan defence ministry website on Thursday.
more..

Amnesty condemn Tamil Tiger attacks

June 7 (BBC) British foreign ministry and leading human rights organisations had condemned attacks on civilians in Sri Lanka. In statement issued to the media, Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown said, "There is an urgent need to end the senseless loss of lives caused by such acts of violence and for all parties to the conflict in Sri Lanka to take responsibility for the protection and safety of the civilian population".
more..

A malicious “patriotism” and its impact on media and journalists

June 7 (GV) Journalists in Sri Lanka are trying to recollect whether they had a worse time under the regime of President Ranasinghe Premadasa when during the height of a crackdown on a JVP insurrection many media personnel were killed or simply disappeared, or if the regime of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is moved ahead of that dark era and is fast creating a special niche for himself as the biggest suppressor of whatever media freedom is there in this country.
more..

Stocks weaken further due to lacklustre buying

June 7 (LBO) Sri Lanka stocks weakened by 0.68 percent during Friday's trading adding to the week-long losing streak at the Colombo Stock Exchange. The All Share Price Index dropped 0.68 percent (16.88 points) to end at 2,499.61 while the more liquid Milanka fell 0.81 percent (24.61 points) to 3,005.24. Turnover was 144.7 million rupees. A bus bombing by Tamil Tiger separatists killed 20 people before the market opened, while another bomb went off in a bus about an hour and a half after the market closed.
more..

Sri Lanka Brandix is top apparel exporter

June 7 (LBO) Sri Lanka's export promotion agency has named Brandix as the island's top apparel exporter Friday, the group which employs more than 25,000 people, said. "The concluded year was one of the most challenging ever, but it was also the year in which Brandix launched the highest number of projects," Brandix chief executive Ashroff Omar said in a statement. "We remain committed to investing in future growth and
more..

Reactions of the West to the Eastern Provincial Council Elections

June 7 (LG) I am sure many Sri Lankans have been waiting to see the type of reaction that would be forthcoming from the Western powers to the elections conducted to the Eastern Provincial Council.It has to be conceded that despite innumerable hazards and difficulties on the ground, the elections were conducted democratically to the best extent possible, taking into consideration the general scenario one could expect in conducting an election under the different political dispensations we have had.
more..

Swan song of the Left

June 7 (LG) The LSSP and the CP, in their hey day, spoke of revolution, and workers control. Their dream was the revolution that Lenin led. Stalin's government exposed it as an impractical dream. The visionary Gorbachev helped Russia back to capitalism, and it is now amongst the world's great powers. The revolution came with Sirimavo Bandaranaike as the Prime Minister. Those Leftists who hung onto her saree sensibly realizing that capitalism had come to stay and were firmly entrenched in the economic firmament were recipients of portfolios.
more..

Lingerie and Terror : The war laps at Sri Lanka's prosperous south

June 7 (LG) But the room holds no books, magazines or furniture. It is empty, except for a soldier's bed of cardboard, and a manly litter of old newspapers, empty bottles and cigarette butts. For many Tamils, this might be a symbol of their misfortunes. Friday: I AM standing amid soft mounds of Victoria's Secret underwear, in a room with 1,000 young women. Engaging, if faintly intimidating, as this may be for me, it is even better for Sri Lanka.
more..